This invention relates to creating three-dimensional models of an object being designed with the aid of a computer.
Known computer-aided design (CAD) systems are used to refine the design, e.g., the size and shape, of objects whose general size, shape and scale have already been determined. Typically, this information is entered into the computer, and the object is displayed to the designer in roughly finished form. The designer then implements one or more CAD routines to refine the design in selected ways. For example, if the object being designed is a yacht, the CAD system may be used to implement subtle changes in the contours of the hull to increase the hull's efficiency in the water. The designer communicates with the CAD system in a variety of ways, for example, using the computer keyboard, a mouse, a tablet, or so-called "joy-sticks" or "pucks".
The initial design is typically done manually by the designer using pencil and paper, with the design given three dimensional attributes on the sketchpad via hatching and shading. Thus, to adequately represent the object at this early stage of the design process often requires several pages of two dimensional sketches, each representing one view of the object. Also, the above-mentioned computer interfaces generally restrict the designer to working on the object in one plane at a time, thereby discouraging use of CAD systems to generate the initial design of the object.
One alternative is for the designer to enter information about the three dimensional design in the form of points (i.e., coordinates) of the shape, but this requires that each point be evaluated by the designer and entered into the computer one coordinate (and thus one dimension) at a time.